weight loss surgery Follow

Thanks for the input! I’m pretty torn on what to do… but we have another weigh in coming up in a couple weeks, so we’ll talk some more. I’m starting to REALLY second guess this band method and am questioning my faith in the vet… the advantages are the lack of a 3 hour drive home with a dog fresh from surgery, less expensive. But the disadvantage is that if she was recommending TPLO, it would probably be over and done by now and never mind all this weight loss stuff- that 90 pound thing suddenly strikes me as VERY coincidental… he’s just NOT a 90 pound dog, I was shocked when she said that, now I don’t think it’s a coincidence, if that’s the recommended weight limit for that surgery (thanks for the info, 7dogs). I might go ahead and consult with his previous vet, who I was also quite happy with and she recommended TPLO from the start, but we moved away (which is why we didn’t do TPLO months ago- didn’t want him recovering in an unfamiliar house- that was 8 months worth of dieting ago)... its just 2 hours to the old vet, so it might be worth seeing what she has to say. I am for sure afraid of the first few days home afterwards, but I’m fortunate to be working from home now, so I can be with him 24/7. In the meantime, we have him on Previcox, which is supposed to be anti-inflammatory and for pain… it seems to be helping IMMENSELY. I wonder if that’s similar to Meloxicam? They did blood work before putting him on it, partly as a baseline so they can see if it’s having a negative affect on him (liver and kidney)... if it’s something that needs to be watched that closely, I certainly don’t want him on it any longer than necessary, but am grateful that he’s getting relief for now. Anyway, thanks SO MUCH for all your advice and words of encouragement… as usual, MDS is invaluable. I do see it in his eyes. I know he hurts. If I was in chronic physical pain, the last thing I’d give a flying rats a$$ about is losing weight. Just fix it. Your message (Monty) brought tears to my eyes… he really is just SO lovable, all he cares about is making us happy and being with us. We can’t let him and Ember outside at the same time anymore- it breaks my heart. We’re teaching our puppy NOT to play with her big brother. She gets in trouble for it, even. That is simply not fair, to either of them. I don’t have to accompany Olie outside, luckily, when he’s on his own he doesn’t care to even try to run, but its always separate from Ember, she gets him too riled up. He has a hard time getting comfortable to go potty- squatting puts him off balance, and he’s having to learn to lift the other leg. And nothing breaks my heart worse than going to the beach with Ember, leaving Olie behind. It’s so unfair… we all suffer, because we just skip the trips to the beach, I just can’t leave him behind… unless his Daddy is home, he’s happy to stay with him, but only then. So while there is certainly a scientific and medical side of this story to think hard about, there are also great emotional side effects… I know you all understand that though. Thanks, Julie